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A home septic system is a relatively basic system that will take care of itself for the most part. This is only true if you know what you can and can't put down the drains and toilets in your home. If you go about putting whatever you want down the drains and toilets, the system will begin to give you problems and can eventually fail. So, what can you put down the drains and toilets in your home? What should you never flush or pour down the drains? This blog is all about preventing septic system problems to prevent damage and system failures.

4 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Septic System

While it's not something most people think about on a daily (or even annual) basis, septic systems are nonetheless a vital feature of life that keep people much cleaner and healthier. For this reason alone, it's important to know some ways in which you can make sure that your septic system is healthy too. So keep reading below to discover four ways that you can be proactive and avoid septic problems in the future.

No Overloading

When you flood your septic system with too much water at any given time, it makes it harder on the system to process the water in an efficient way. For this reason, it's important to avoid frequently using appliances that themselves use too much water. For many, the biggest change this results in is doing one smaller load of laundry each day instead of multiple loads on one day. Also try to avoid using the dishwasher and washing machine at the same time.

Organic Materials Only

Inorganic materials aren't great for your septic system because they take so long to break down (if they can be broken down at all). A good rule of thumb to remember is that if you can't eat it, it shouldn't be processed by the septic system. And even then, it's smart not to use the garbage disposal if you have one in your kitchen. The small chunks of material — regardless of whether they're organic or not — will likely cause too much buildup in a septic tank.

No Additives

Many people might think there is an exception for the rule above when it comes to drain cleaners and other similar additives. But just like the rest of inorganic materials, all these additives do is work to create more nasty buildup on the inside of your tank. So if a pipe needs clearing, call a professional instead of heading to the store and pouring a mystery mixture down your drain in the hopes of fixing it. Your septic system will be much healthier for it in the long run.

Regular Inspection

Unless they are directly dealing with a problem, most people will completely forget about the need to maintain their septic system. But by being proactive and scheduling regular maintenance, you can avoid this problem quite easily. Don't worry — septic system inspections only need to happen once every couple of years unless there's a big problem you need addressed right away.